Confidence in the UK’s Renewable Energy Guarantees of Origin (REGOs) scheme is plummeting, with prices collapsing 70% in just three months, according to Cornwall Insight’s latest Green Certificates Survey.
The average REGO price fell from £2.56 in January to just £0.77 by April for the 2024–25 Fuel Mix Disclosure period – marking six straight quarters of decline.
Surging renewable supply and softening demand are to blame, with corporates shifting towards power purchase agreements (PPAs) and growing scepticism over whether REGOs truly drive decarbonisation.
REGOs – issued by Ofgem to renewable generators for every megawatt hour (MWh) produced – are meant to show that electricity suppliers source green energy.
But critics say they’re fast becoming a greenwashing tool.
Once power enters the grid, its origin is impossible to trace – and a growing number of suppliers are calling time on the certificates.
OVO made headlines in 2023 when it ditched REGOs altogether.
Now others may follow, especially as prices slide back to levels not seen since 2021. The dramatic slump follows a 2023 spike, when prices topped £15 per certificate due to CfD delays, supply constraints and an end to using EU Guarantees of Origin.
Despite a 2021 government call for evidence and a 2023 summary of responses, there’s still no clear reform plan.
Hopes now rest on the long-running Review of Electricity Market Arrangements (REMA), which is expected to launch a new workstream this year on greenwashing and consumer transparency.
But many in the sector say more clarity is urgently needed.
Adding to the pressure, the Greenhouse Gas Protocol is reviewing how companies worldwide report electricity-related emissions.
That includes questioning whether renewable certificates like REGOs really cut emissions, or if they’re slowing down genuine change.
Set up in 2003 under an EU directive, the REGO scheme was never meant to be the backbone of corporate carbon reporting.
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